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xix. 253; Homm. SA Chrest. 119); or the of Ptol. vi. 7. 30, an inland town lying (according to Glaser, 252) W of El-Ḳaṭīf.

(8) ( or )] coupled with  (? and ) in Ezk. 27$22$ as a tribe trading in spices, precious stones, and gold. It is doubtless the (Raǧmat) of a Minæan inscr., which speaks of an attack by the hosts of Saba and Ḥaulân on a Minæan caravan en route between Ma'ân and Ra'mat. This again may be connected with the of Strabo (xvi. iv. 24) N of Ḥaḍramaut. The identification with the [] (a seaport on the Persian Gulf) of Ptol. vi. 7. 14 (Boch. al.; so Glaser) is difficult because of its remoteness from Sheba and Dedan (v.i.), and also because this appears on the inscr. as Rǧmt (Glaser, 252).

(9) ] unknown. in Carmania (Ptol. vi. 8. 7 f., 11) is unsuitable both geographically and phonetically. Je. suggests that the word is a duplicate of.

(10) ] (properly, as inscrs. show, : see No. 5 above) is assigned in v.$29$ to the Joḳṭanites, and in 25$3$ to the Ḳetureans. It is the OT name of the people known to the classical geographers as Sabæans, the founders of a great commercial state in SW Arabia, with its metropolis at Marib (Mariaba), some 45 miles due E of San'a, the present capital of Yemen (Strabo, xvi. iv. 2, 19; Pliny, HN, vi. 154 f., etc.). "They were the centre of an old S Arabian civilisation, regarding the former existence of which the Sabæan inscriptions and architectural monuments supply ample evidence" (Di. 182). Their history is still obscure. The native inscrs. commence about 700 ; and, a little earlier, Sabæan princes (not kings) appear on Ass. monuments as paying tribute to Tiglath-pileser iv. ( 738) and Sargon ( 715). It would seem that about that time (probably with the help of the Assyrians) they overthrew the older Minæan Empire, and established themselves on its ruins. Unlike their precursors, however, they do not appear to have consolidated their power in N Arabia, though their inscrs. have been found as far N as el-Ǧ]ōf. To the Hebrews, Sheba was a 'far country' (Jer. 6$20$, Jl. 4$8$), famous for gold, frankincense, and precious stones (1 Ki. 10$1ff.$, Is. 60$6$, Jer. 6$20$, Ezk. 27$22$, Ps. 72$15$): in all these passages, as well as Ps. 72$10$, Jb. 6$19$, the reference to the southern Sabæans is clear. On the other hand, the association with Dedan (25$3$, Ezk. 38$13$ and here) favours a more northern locality; in Jb. 1$15$ they appear as Bedouin of the northern desert; and the Ass. references appear to imply a northerly situation. Since it is undesirable to assume the existence of two separate peoples, it is tempting to suppose that the pass. last quoted preserve the tradition of an earlier time, before the